Bridge collapse snaps road communication on 12 southern routes

Road communications on 12 routes in Mathbaria and Patharghata upazilas (sub-district) remained snapped after a bailey bridge collapsed at Madarsi in Bhandaria upazila of the district Friday night.

Police and locals said the bridge collapsed on the river when two boulder-laden trucks were crossing the bridge at the same time around 2:00 in the small hours of Saturday.

The two truck drivers fled the scene shortly after the accident.

The accident snapped road communications on 12 routes of Mathbaria and Barguna’s Patharghata upazilas with Dhaka, Barisal, Khulna, and Pirojpur.

Deputy assistant engineer at Pirojpur Roads and Highway Department Fakhrul Islam said the bailey bridge had capacity of maximum 20 tonnes and so collapsed under the combined weight of 50 tonnes of the two trucks.